Something of a perfectionist when it comes to the position, Norv Turner doesn’t freely compliment quarterbacks.

But of Philip Rivers’ one-touchdown, one-interception performance Sunday against the New England Patriots, in which Rivers amassed a pedestrian 82.1 passer rating, Turner said: “I don’t know if he can play any better than he played.”

Rivers would be the first to say he missed a few throws. But some of those – including one incompletion that could have set the Chargers up for a much easier game-tying field goal -- were on routes run hesitantly. There were five drops, including one on the final drive that could have been a 10-yard gain.

It looks as if it will be more of the same this Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.

Davis, Floyd, Gates and Naanee did not practice Thursday and all are in question for Sunday, though Gates and Davis (ribs) are expected to play and Naanee was able to work in a limited manner Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Rivers just keeps working to get in a rhythm with who he has.

“It does take time, but we don’t have time,” Rivers said. “We gotta go win this week. We got to make it work now.”

With Floyd and Gates both out the second half at St. Louis and then last week’s game, Rivers’ passer rating has fallen almost eight points to 97.8.

Further, while the absence of Vincent Jackson did not affect the Chargers’ vertical passing game while their other regular were healthy, it has become a detriment the past two games.

Going into St. Louis, Rivers led the league in effectiveness on passes that travel more than 20 yards in the air. But two of his past four such attempts have been intercepted, including the only one Rivers attempted Sunday (after attempting 28 the first six games). And after leading the league with 32 completions of 20 or more yards through five games, the Chargers have just seven such completions the past two weeks.

Rivers, as usual, is positive. And with the regulars sitting, this week has afforded a chance for him to work more extensively with the new guys.

“It gets better each and every day,” Rivers said. “It is certainly not at the level it is with Malcolm or Legedu or Buster. When you have thrown as many balls as you have thrown to them and you’ve thrown as few balls as you have to the other guys, you certainly can’t say it’s the same, but certainly those guys

want to be where they are supposed to be. They want to do good. They try hard. They work at it, and if they are in there, as you saw the other day, I’m going to give them the ball if they are the guy that is open, that comes open, and they’ll do well.”

Nuts ‘n’ Bolts

• As expected, Sunday’ game will be blacked out. The Chargers fell about 8,000 tickets short of selling the required number of non-premium tickets.

• Jackson is expected to report to Chargers Park today, though he is not expected to speak publicly. He can practice with the team while he serves his time on the Roster Exempt List but will not be eligible to play until Nov. 28 at Indianapolis. Said Turner: “I’m anxious to see Vincent … But myself and everyone who is going to play Sunday are zeroed in on this football game, and we will deal with … how we plan on getting Vincent ready starting on Monday.”

• It appears Tennessee quarterback Vince Young, who has not played since spraining his knee and ankle on Oct. 18, will start Sunday. Young has a 98.8 passer rating this season, but the Chargers have beaten him all four times they’ve faced him and held him to a 43.9 rating. Last season, Young had a 96.8 rating in his eight starts going into a Dec. 25 game against the Chargers, in which he had an 11.9 rating.

• A day after dislocating a finger and tearing the webbing on his right hand, receiver Richard Goodman returned to practice. He is expected to play Sunday, though likely only on special teams.

• Inside linebacker Brandon Siler (foot) missed two games before returning last Sunday. He has not practiced this week.